Reading whatever, wherever, whenever I can…

Category: Reviews

Hey there, y’all! As promised, I have returned after a brief hiatus. Thank you to my loyal followers for your patience and for sticking with me.

What can I say about my October reading? It was slow-going compared to what I’m used to, that’s for sure. In fact, most months in recent times have seen a reduction in my reading; life events have dictated this so much so that I’ve had to adjust my Goodreads Reading Challenge goal down from its original 200 to a more attainable 160. This is somewhat disappointing for the personal goals I set for myself each year, but I do realize it’s still a much loftier number than many people reach so… I’ll calm myself down a bit and go with the flow.

As you can see, I read a total of nine books in October. Most were real winners, and a couple totally blew me away. Three of the novels were sequels I’d been waiting and waiting for, and they did not disappoint. Two of these especially stick out in my mind: A Sorrow Fierce And Falling was the final book in the Kingdom on Fire Trilogy by Jessica Cluess and it was everything I’d hoped for. Night of Miracles, the sequel to The Story of Arthur Truluv by Elizabeth Berg, wasn’t quite as magical as it’s predecessor but still hit the mark.

As a special treat, I reread the enduring YA classic, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. Let me tell you, it was every bit as special as it was the first time around (which would have been about 35 years ago – does that age me, or what?!). I went into reading Winger, another YA title, expecting a typical boys-will-be-boys, friendships-are-special type of book. Boy, was I wrong. This book blew me away. My friend Sarah, who recommended the book, sure knows how to pick ‘em!!

Are you following Pathologically Literate on Facebook? We’re also on Twitter, and don’t forget to follow me on Goodreads, too!! Hope you had a great Autumn, and that the coming Winter is good to you as well. Until next month, Happy Reading to you all!

It’s a new month, and a new Bookish Roundup for the win! I read some great books in July, some not-so-great books, re-visited an old favorite, and found a new fave author to follow. All in all a good month, I would say. I also participated in two separate readathons in July, and had a blast both times. While I didn’t get as much reading done during the readathons as usual, I had much fun interacting with other participants via social media, and I even won a prize!!

This “writer’s pack” includes the three current titles of the quartet – signed!! I will also receive Renee Adieh’s newest title, as well as multiple other goodies. I’m on a streak, y’all – maybe I should go out and buy a Powerball ticket… but let’s take a look at my July reads first:

By far the best book I read in July was Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik. This rich, haunting, powerful fairy tale is absolutely brilliant, and I didn’t want it to end. Another big fave was The Secret, Book & Scone Society by Ellery Adams – a book about book lovers by a fellow book lover? What’s not to love about that? Honorable mentions go to: Jandy Nelson, Ashley Herring Blake, and Hannah Orenstein.

I have to say that I was sorely disappointed after reading Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson. I didn’t connect with the characters at all, and at times it felt as though it was almost written for a middle-grade audience instead of YA. All That I Can Fix by Crystal Chan was also a let-down after the hype I’d set my high expectations upon. But you win some, and you lose some, and then you move on and keep on reading, amirite? That’s exactly what I plan on doing in August, y’all – I hope you will, too. Happy Reading!!

Feeling bored and lonely, and want more of Pathologically Literate? Never fear! Come visit me on Facebook, Instagram, or Goodreads!! Hope to see you there!

June has passed, leaving the memories of so many amazing books. Seriously, y’all. My first (and only) two faves of 2018 so far were read in June – I can’t wait to tell you about them! In addition to these amazing reads, I had some amazing times in June, like participating in the #8intwo Mini-Readathon – where, you guessed it, participants reach for the goal of reading eight hours in two days. Easy peasy, I said. I do that often, I said. No prob, I said. And then I promptly spent 6.5 hours reading over the two designated days. What’s that about, I ask you? Performance anxiety, perhaps?

Regardless of my abysmal readathon performance, the aforementioned ah-ma-zing books I read more than made up for that little debacle. Here’s a quick look at what I read…

I really don’t even know where to start, y’all, because so many of these reads were just too fabulous for words. I will say that the beginning of the month, while still filled with good reads, wasn’t as thrilling as the last few weeks of the month. I was rather disappointed by the newest Jenny Colgan novel, The Endless Beach. I’m a huge fan of hers, which made the let-down even worse. Brightly Burning by Alexa Donne started out as a four or five star read, but was quickly downgraded to a 3-star read toward the strange, unexpected ending. Everything else in June, though? Four to five stars, all the way.

A major shout-out goes to Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi – this fast-paced, thrilling, and powerful read will stick with me for quite a while to come. A Reaper at the Gates, Book #3 of The Ember Quartet by Sabaa Tahir was spectacular and her best yet – I don’t know how I’m going to wait an entire year for Book #4! The Book of Essie, while not as fast-paced as the previous two, is also a five-star must-read.

I’m so excited for all the great books I already have lined up to read in July – and for the 24 in 48 Readathon, which takes place from July 21 to July 22. Want to join me? Sign up here! Hope to see you there, y’all, but whether I do or don’t – Happy Reading to you all.

Feeling bored and lonely, and want more of Pathologically Literate? Never fear! Come visit me on Facebook, Instagram, or Goodreads!! Hope to see you there!

Y’all, May is over and I for one am a happy little camper about that. What can I say? May was an odd month for me in terms of reading. Things moved very slooooowly, and then they sped up toward the end of the month as I busted out of my late Spring slump like a crazy woman!

Indeed, by mid-May I had read a mere five books. Five. So, so sad, don’t you think? For me, anyway. Then I rejoiced as I joined the Bout of Books 22 Readathon – surely I would redeem myself by reading all kinds of books during that week-long period, right? Wrong. I managed only one and a half. NOT EVEN TWO FULL BOOKS, y’all. Granted, all kinds of emergency dental and medical appointments kept creeping out of the woodwork during that time, but still – I was so disappointed in myself.

Thankfully, I redeemed myself over the final ten days of May by reading seven books within that time period. I repeat: the bulk of May’s reading occurred during the last ten days of the month! I don’t know what was going on with me, but at least I upped the count of books read to a total of thirteen with that little spurt at the end. Let’s take a look at what I did manage to get under my belt last month…

I was so excited that FOUR books I’d been anxiously awaiting were released in May. I was thrilled with two of them and happy with the other two, so it was win-win for me. A fun read in particular was Puddin’ by Julie Murphy, as I read it along with three of my book club buddies which made it not only a blast, but much more thought-provoking and meaningful. I even managed to sneak in my non-fiction read for the month by reading 10% Happier by Dan Harris right before the end of May! Not a bad read, but I’m much more looking forward to its sequel, Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics.

I have high hopes for my reading goals in June; at the very least I would like to read more than FIVE books by the middle of the month. Do you think I can do it? I sincerely hope so. I guess we will find out with June’s Bookish Roundup, y’all. Until then, Happy Reading!!

what did you read in may, friends?

Happy May Day, y’all! Another year is nearly half way over, can you believe it? The time has flown by, especially since I tend to measure it by how many books I’ve read! April happened to fly by particularly quickly, not the least because I participated in (count ‘em) two readathons. I had so much fun participating in the 25 in 5 Readathon at the beginning of April, and particularly the Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon at the end of the month. For the Dewey’s Readathon, I once again holed up in my BFF’s amazing guest suite, where I was waited on hand and foot while I read my little heart out. I am so lucky to have this friend and her family in my life, and I never let myself forget it. Thank you again, Carrie!!

Now, because of the readathons I was able to read a total of 19 books in April – woo-hoo!! I’m back in the game again, y’all – that pesky reading slump is old news as far as I’m concerned. I was able to read five books during the 25 in 5 Readathon, and during the Dewey’s Readathon I was able to read four. The remaining ten books were spread out through the rest of the month.

I went heavy on the YA again in April, but I just couldn’t help myself – there were too many great titles that I just could not pass up! Of particular note in the YA category, I would mention The Nowhere Girls by Amy Reed and All American Boys by Jason Reynolds. Both were particularly well-written, powerful reads. Stray City was an excellent novel as well, but of particular note I would like to mention Alice by Christina Henry and its sequel, Red Queen. A dark, twisted retelling of The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland, these books simply blew me away.

May is upon us, y’all, and it’s starting to finally warm up (and green up) out there. I’m getting to spend more and more time reading out on my front porch, enjoying both my books and the sunshine. Coming up in May is the week-long Bout of Books Readathon, which I will be participating in. You can also look forward to a mid-year check-in of my 2018 Bookish Resolutions: How am I doing? Am I meeting my goals? Failing horribly? Stick around and you will find out soon enough… Happy Reading to you all!!

Did you read any YA in April? What was your fave book of the month?

While the month of love has passed, my love for reading has not. With the end of February, the time to share its month’s reads has come. Y’all, my reading list was all over the place this month. We’re talking the good, the bad, and the ugly. But even the ugly garnered a four-starred review, so I’m not complaining. This month held a healthy mix of both adult and YA fiction. Unfortunately, I did not keep up with my goal to read a minimum of one non-fiction book per month. I suppose this means I will have to redeem myself by reading at least two non-fiction works during another month this year. Ugh. Yay!! All right, y’all, without further ado…

Y’all, I read some amazing fiction in February – and some that was not-so-amazing. But let’s talk about the positives, shall we? Amber Smith’s The Last to Let Go was just as powerful as her previous novel, The Way I Used to Be – she is definitely an author to keep on your radar. Dime, by E.R. Frank, was brutal (major trigger warnings, btw) but necessary and even though it was hard to read, I’m glad I did. Teen human trafficking is real, and this novel brought that to life in a big way. They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera was both tenderly sorrowful and full of humor at the same time, and How to Stop Time by Matt Haig was just plain amazing – Haig is definitely someone whose previous work I’m looking up. Many of the other novels I read were darn stinkin’ good as well, but the above mentioned were my faves of the month.

March is almost here, and the weather is starting to heat up just a bit. Temps today here in Nebraska reached the 60’s and I rejoiced as I relaxed on my front porch with my current read. Does it matter that it’s supposed to snow tomorrow? No. No, it does not – because I got in a beautiful day of warmth and sunshine, and I’ll take what I can get after months of clouds and cold. I hope wherever you are, the sun is shining down on you as well. Happy Reading, y’all!!

What was your fave book of february?

Oh. Em. Gee. January was a gangbusters month in reading for me, y’all, and I am here to tell you all about it! Not only did I manage to read 23 books last month, but I found soooo many amazing reads that I couldn’t believe my luck…

As I mentioned above, so many of the books I read in January were just spectacular. I also happened to read a LOT of YA titles – 17 of the 23 books I read were of the YA variety, in fact. Whew! And to think that this time last year, I wouldn’t touch the stuff! How times change…

Some of my fave titles from January included The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory, Love, Hate and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed, Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds, and When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon. A special shout-out goes to Girls Like Us by Gail Giles. While it was a short read (221 pages), Girls Like Us was so sweet and real and heartbreakingly beautiful. I read it in one evening and did not want it to end. It’s definitely a must read for everyone.

Based on my raging reading success in January, I am super excited to get started on my February reading list. I already have several titles waiting for me on my Kindle Paperwhite (both owned and borrowed), as well as those sent to me from NetGalley and those I’ve checked out from my local library. Don’t know if I can beat the record I set last month of reading 23 books since we only have a 28-day month, but I’m sure going to give it everything I’ve got. Happy Reading in February, y’all!!

What was your fave read of January?

I’m so excited to share with you the final Bookish Roundup of 2017!! December started out amazingly well as I raced through the books, but towards the end of the month, things began to slow considerably for me. That said, I still managed to pack a total of 16 books under my belt (bringing my total books read in 2017 up to 229!). I read in my comfort zone, out of my comfort zone, and around my comfort zone – I read all kinds of books in December, and I enjoyed almost all of them immensely.

I was quite pleased to finally pick up the Night trilogy by Elie Wiesel, something that, I’m ashamed to say, had been on my TBR for over twenty years. Hauntingly, boldly, and bluntly, Wiesel tore my heart to shreds. I worked quite a bit of YA into the mix, and even got some YA Fantasy on that list for good measure. All of those were great reads that I definitely recommend. I had a lot of heavy reading in December, so it was nice to be able to work in a little Jenny Colgan, my go-to, feel-good cozy romance diva extraordinaire. If I had to choose a top three out of all 16 books I read, I would have to go with Starfish by Akemi Dawn Brown, Devils Within by S.F. Henson, and Ever the Hunted by Erin Summerill. All three are YA novels; all three are spectacular.

I’m super excited to get started on my reading list for the new year, and to see what new books come into my life as well. I just know 2018 is going to be a year of good times and even better reads. I wish the best to all of you and hope you have Happy Reading in the new year!

What was the last book you read in 2017?

2017 is coming to a close, and that means I now get to share with you my favorite books of the year. I read sooooo many good ones this year, y’all (229 books in total, as a matter of fact!) and it was torture trying to narrow things down to a list of just ten books. You almost had a list of my Top 35 Books of the Year… That just didn’t have a nice ring to it, however, so I worked my tail off and came up with my top ten favorites (plus just a few more, because that’s how I roll).

As always, click each title to be taken to a summary of the book. Now, you may have noticed something about this list that is a little unusual compared to past lists… Yes, you are correct: three of the titles are YA books! 2017 was the year of the YA novel for Pathologically Literate!! I’m not sure of the exact stats (those are yet to come in my PIE CHART post in January) but let’s just say I read… a crap-ton of YA novels this year. I know, I know – Hell did not freeze over, like I claimed so many times that it would before I would become a YA fan. What can I say, y’all? There is some quality stuff out there and I enjoyed the hell out of it.

While I was choosing which arm to cut off narrowing down my selections, I just had to tack on some honorable mentions, as I could not keep my list down to a mere ten books. This, too, was a tough job as I wanted to choose so many of the wonderful books I read this year. Please don’t forget to check out my “2017” Shelf on Goodreads for a look at everything I read this year. While you’re there, be sure to add me as your newest Goodreads friend!!

Honorable Mentions:

Oh, yes, y’all – another anomaly on the Honorable Mentions list, isn’t there? I’ve also mentioned in the past that Harry Potter was not something that called to me, and it wasn’t – until now. Indeed, 2017 was also the year of Harry Potter – in which I tentatively picked up the first book in the series, liked it, then wound up absolutely devouring the rest of the series in little over a week. This sparked a flurry of excitement within my online book club, and I had much fun discussing the various books in the series with my friends there as I read them.

2017 was a year of good times and good reads, and I can’t wait to see what’s to come in the next year. Bring it on, 2018!!

Did you have any favorite books of 2017? Share in the comments!

Whew! November was a crazy busy month here in the Pathologically Literate household, y’all, and am I glad it is over. C’mon, December – hit me with your best shot!! Despite the craziness of November, I was able to read a total of eighteen books and participate in a five-day Thanksgiving Readathon. Thus, I’m not complaining too much.

So… November, 2017 was the unofficial Month of Cheesy Romance Novels. I loved getting to know the Winston Brothers, and started on a Sarah MacLean series as well. In fact, there were several great reads this month, however, my favorite novel by far was The Story of Arthur Truluv by Elizabeth Berg. Berg has been one of my favorite authors for about twenty years now, but her last few books have really been hit or miss for me. Folks, with The Story of Arthur Truluv, that old Berg magic is back!! Arthur stole my heart about two minutes in and, nearly a month later, has yet to give it back.

Now that December is here, I have twelve more books to read to reach my unofficial goal of reading 225 books in 2017. Piece of cake, y’all!! In fact, barring natural disasters, I believe I shall surpass that goal. Yay, me!! Keep your eyes peeled in January for an update on my Bookish Resolutions for 2017. Until then, friends – Happy Reading!!